


The First Trial

by Raven_Knight



Series: 2018 Autumn OTP Challenge - Multifandom [20]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen, Jedi Family Feels, Jedi Lifestyle, Jedi Training, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 01:44:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17736653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Knight/pseuds/Raven_Knight
Summary: Accompanied by his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, young Obi-Wan Kenobi undergoes his first trial and rite as a Padawan Learner on the frozen planet of Ilum.





	The First Trial

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. This piece, archived at Archive of Our Own (Ao3), is purely a non-commercial work of fiction from which I am not profiting in any way. This work may not be reproduced, archived, or redistributed by any means and/or in any format without prior written permission from me. Permission may be obtained by contacting me at r4v3n.kn1ght@gmail.com. 
> 
> This series of oneshots belong to the 2018 Autumn OTP Challenge, though I have done away with the OTP part of it and focus instead on either romantic ships I ship or platonic relationships that fit the prompt given. This oneshot is in response to prompt #20: Mountain Trip/Hiking. 
> 
> Note: This story disregards some points from The Clone Wars: The Gathering, most notably that Younglings without having Masters journey to Ilum for their crystals. In my (headcanon’d) version, a Youngling must first reach the title of Padawan/Apprentice before they go to Ilum for their crystals and make their lightsaber. They make this journey with their masters. ~ RK

**The First Trial**  
**By  
** **Raven Knight**

The walk had been long to reach the caves, but that had been Qui-Gon Jinn’s intention.  One of the early tasks of a new Master and Padawan pair involved the ancient ritual of journeying to the ice planet Ilum to gather a crystal for the new Padawan’s future lightsaber. The ritual and trial concluded upon the Padawan successfully completing the construction of their lightsaber. This would be the weapon that would be with them for the rest of their lives barring unusual or unforeseen circumstances that deprived a Jedi of their weapon. Since the morning Qui-Gon had mentioned Ilum to his newly chosen apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the boy had been practically vibrating with excitement.

_“Before our sparring session this afternoon,” Qui-Gon said around a bite of muja fruit, “we must divert to the quartermaster for some cold weather gear.”_

_“Are we going on a mission already, Master?” Obi-Wan asked, trying to hide the excitement that his eyes gave away._

_“In a sense, yes.” He smiled at his apprentice. “But it is your mission more than mine.” Obi-Wan’s brows came together as he puzzled through the riddle. Qui-Gon leaned closer to him. “I’ll give you another hint. It is your first trial as my Padawan.”_

_He recognized the moment Obi-Wan figured it out. “We’re going to Ilum!”_

_“Yes, we are.”_

_Obi-Wan beamed at him and Qui-Gon could not help but share in his joy._

Qui-Gon stirred the contents of the pot he had rigged up to hang over the small fire he’d built in the entrance of the cave. Each Padawan’s gathering differed and there was no telling how long it would take each child to complete. Regardless, he was determined to have something ready to warm his apprentice when he emerged from the depths of the cave with his crystal. The caves were cold, the entire planet was cold, but he would not allow himself or his Padawan to freeze during this trial.

Obi-Wan had been displeased by his Master’s chosen landing place being a long walk to the cave entrance until the man had informed him that the gathering ritual was not only about finding his crystal within the caves, but also about enduring the journey to reach one’s objective.

_“The journey, Padawan, is equally important to your end goal. Your life will not work out as you imagine, and there will be unexpected trials you will face. How you endure and the choices you make when those trials arise is what will make you a Knight, and show you what kind of Knight you will become.” He looked to the distant entrance to the Crystal Caves. “That is why we walk across the land. To remind us of the importance of the journey.”_

_Drawing his insulated hood tighter around his face, Obi-Wan nodded. “I understand, Master.” He did not complain again the rest of the walk, his focus resolutely on the distant cave and his objective._

Hours had passed since he wished Obi-Wan well and cautioned him to be safe but patient and mindful of every moment during his trial. “Listen to the Force,” he’d shouted at Obi-Wan’s departing form. The boy flashed him an indulgent grin, picked up his pace, and headed into the darkness for his first trial of his apprenticeship. Qui-Gon watched his new Padawan walk into the depths of the caves until he could no longer see the boy. At that point, he turned away to set up a fire and began to prepare a meal. 

Knowing Obi-Wan would be gone for a significant amount of time, Qui-Gon did not rush in the preparations. He got out the tools and the vegetables he brought along in his pack and situated himself with deliberate care before he got the fire lit and the pot filled with ice and snow over it. He chopped the vegetables and tossed them into the warming water with practiced ease and skill. It would not be the heartiest of meals he’d prepared so far for himself and his Padawan, but it would suffice. It would be something hot on a world of ice. As he waited for the broth to cook and the vegetables to stew in their own juices, Qui-Gon folded his body into his favored position for meditation and sunk into the welcoming embrace of the Force.

“Master?” Obi-Wan called from a distance. “Master?” He sounded closer. “Master!”

Qui-Gon opened his eyes, rested from his meditation but also displeased with Obi-Wan’s disturbance of it. He forgave him when he saw his Padawan’s eager yet anxious face as he held out his gloved palm. A blue crystal lay within Obi-Wan’s cupped hand. Qui-Gon smiled. “Well done, Padawan.”

Obi-Wan brought his hand closer to Qui-Gon, who shied away. “No, no, Obi-Wan. This is your crystal. It will not respond to me as it does to you.” _That’s not exactly true._ He conceded to his mind with a nod. “At least not yet. A lightsaber is an extension of a Jedi. It is a weapon, yes, but it is as much a part of us as the Force. As you had to learn to listen to and give yourself and trust the Force, you will also learn to listen to, give yourself, and trust in the crystal of your lightsaber. It must become a part of you before you can use it effectively. Do you understand?”

Obi-Wan had focused his eyes on his crystal as his mind focused on his Master’s words. “I think so, Master.” He closed his fist over it. With his free hand, he undid his coat and opened it long enough to reach one of the pouches on his belt. He tucked his crystal inside one of them carefully. He turned to look at Qui-Gon. “Master, what are you doing?”

Qui-Gon had removed his own coat and outermost tunic, the latter of which he held out towards the boy. “You’ve been gone for over five hours, Obi-Wan. You must be freezing.”

Obi-Wan did not move to take the tunic. “Won’t you be cold?”

Qui-Gon’s lopsided smile hid the tender emotion inspired by the question behind a veil of a mentor prioritizing his student’s health over his own. “I’ve spent those hours by a fire while you had no such warm and worked freezing in a cave. Take it.”

Obi-Wan shook his head and stepped back with a mischievous grin. “Who said I would be freezing, Master?” It was Qui-Gon’s turn to be puzzled by his companion’s behavior. He said nothing, but his entire posture waited for some sort of explanation. Obi-Wan reached inside his tunics and pulled out a small heatpack. Qui-Gon burst out laughing. “What? No one said that I couldn’t prepare for the cold of Ilum! I asked and I researched in the Archives!” Obi-Wan defended himself. “One rotation on this planet lasts nineteen days, Master. I was not going to be responsible for us being stuck on Ilum for nineteen days in this weather!”

Qui-Gon laughed as he redressed. “No, you’re right. There isn’t anything that says you can’t prepare for the cold here.” He tightly fastened his coat to ward off the biting cold he’d been protected against until his compassionate error. “And it seems that my lessons in Ataru and the Force are not all I’ve been teaching you.”

Obi-Wan had replaced his heatpack a layer away from his skin. He was already ladling his portion of soup into a bowl as he imitated Yoda. “Observe your Master, and learn all of his lessons, you will.” A stern look from his Master sobered Obi-Wan. “I thought that included when and when not to disregard some rules from time to time.”

“Careful, Padawan, or you’ll be regarded as a defiant maverick like me.”

“There are worse things.” Obi-Wan situated himself closer to the fire and started to eat his soup.

“Oh?” Qui-Gon said, getting his own bowl together.

Obi-Wan nodded. “If I hadn’t brought these heatpacks, I would’ve still taken as long in the caves, but I would’ve been a frozen, dead Padawan and then a laughing stock of the entire Order. I mean, who _dies_ while gathering their crystal? No one! And I was not going to the first ever!” Qui-Gon laughed quietly as he sat beside Obi-Wan, their positions identical. “So, if anything, Master, I’ll be known as defiant but clever. Better that than frozen and stupid.”

Qui-Gon hurried to swallow. “For which I am glad.”

They ate in a comfortable silence occasionally broken by the crackling of the fire. Only after they’d both finished, warmed inside by the soup and outside by the fire and, in Obi-Wan’s case, heatpacks, did Qui-Gon look at his young apprentice and ask, “What did you learn during this trial, Padawan?”

Obi-Wan looked away from his Master and stared contemplatively into the flames. “Patience,” he stated after a brief silence.

“How so?”

Obi-Wan took the time to formulate his answer with care. “Ever since I was a Youngling in the Crèche, Master Yoda would tell me to be mindful of the future.” He looked at his hands twisting together. “Master, may I ask a question before I continue?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think I have the makings of a good Jedi?”

Qui-Gon had not expected that question. He could answer quickly and simply, but he knew that his apprentice often suffered moments of poor self-confidence and at times lacked a belief in himself. No, this question required a few specifics. “You are loyal to me, and therefore the Order. You are respectful. You are quick, skilled, and eager to learn. All of those are admirable traits in a young Jedi, in my Padawan. You are compassionate and swift to give your love to others. You did to me, and reached out when I pushed everyone away from me. You are not arrogant, though you may wish to curb your sarcasm and your tongue a bit more. Yes, Obi-Wan, you have the makings of a _great_ Jedi.”

Obi-Wan absorbed his Master’s words, then nodded in acceptance. “I think that I’ve been too mindful of the future. I’ve focused on it my whole life. Being chosen by a master, building my own lightsaber, my first solo mission, becoming a knight, becoming a Master and having my own Padawan. I’m racing towards my future without—”

“Without focusing on the here and now.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes, Master. I’ve been impatient for the next step that it’s ended with me constantly making mistakes and not truly learning because I’m thinking of what’s next and not what’s going on.” He looked to the dark cave entrance. “When I was in there, I was so impatient to find my crystal as quickly as I could because I wanted to start building my saber, but my crystal never presented itself. I couldn’t find it for hours because I wasn’t thinking about it. I was thinking about it as a piece to a lightsaber instead of as it is. I had to learn patience.”

“Do you think you have?”

Obi-Wan didn’t answer right away. Like Qui-Gon answering his question, Obi-Wan knew it required deliberation. “I think I have started to, but it will take time before I truly understand the lesson.”

Qui-Gon’s eyes shone with pride. “A wise answer, Padawan.” He stirred the embers of the fading fire to spark it back to a small blaze. “But we’ll add focusing on the moment to your lessons when we return to the Temple. It should help you with your fixations on the future and further instill your lesson of patience begun here.”

“Yes, Master.”

Qui-Gon refilled his bowl and picked out the vegetables to eat first so that he could drink the broth. Obi-Wan studied his Master as he ate, admiring the ease with which Qui-Gon conducted himself and the confidence he exuded. Would he ever reach that level of inner peace with himself? He hoped he would. “Master?” he asked. Qui-Gon turned to him without stopping in his drinking of the warm broth. His blue eyes found Obi-Wan’s over the rim of the bowl. “May I ask another question?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Qui-Gon answered, finishing the soup and setting the bowl aside.

“How did your gathering go?”

The look his Master gave him was filled with the promise of an interesting story.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think of it, or hit the kudos button if you're shy. Thanks for reading! ~ RK


End file.
